Football
Associated Press 7y

Croatian Prime Minister urges supporters to behave against Ukraine

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has appealed to fans to behave during Friday's World Cup qualifying match against Ukraine.

Friday's match will be the first time Croatia fans will be allowed into a home game this qualifying campaign after FIFA handed out a stadium ban for the Turkey and Iceland clashes last year as punishment for previous incidents of racism and disorder.

Plenkovic also urged all state institutions to make sure that the game at the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb goes ahead without any trouble.

"We must all take responsibility so that everything passes in order," Plenkovic added.

Plenkovic's appeal comes only weeks after a masked man chased a referee with a metal bar during a local league match between Hajduk Split and Rijeka. Hajduk were fined over the incident and ordered to play two games in an empty stadium.

There have been other incidents in the past involving Croatian fans, some as a protest against Croatian Football Federation leaders, including at Euro 2016 in France last June. The game against Czech Republic in Saint-Etienne was stopped for several minutes when fans threw flares on the field.

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